zygote2k

I'd like to say that my name is Rob and I've been in the fish biz since 1992. I first started out at Pets Etc and went on to be the fish man at many stores including Just Pets (Fox Mill, Greenbriar, Northpoint), PT Moran, SuperPetz, Puppies and Guppies, and a few more that I don't recall. I also studied Marine Biology in college but never finished. I have been doing maintenance for nearly 20 years.
I was the first person in the NOVA area to implement an Algal Turf Scrubber on a reef tank in a pet store. This was in 1994. Back then VHO's were the norm and Metal Halides were the highly desired lighting choice. The ATS was powered by a 4300k Venture Halide fixture from Home Depot, and the DT was lit by VHO's running tar ballasts. Soft coral specimens were plentiful as were most LPS. SPS species were extremely expensive and fared poorly in captive systems. A friend using an ATS with no skimmer achieved a polyp bailout reproduction in an Elegance Coral which was virtually unheard of in that time. Aquarium Frontiers magazine documented this in another similar system.
Much of my ATS knowledge comes from reading "Dynamic Aquaria", by Adey and Loveland. This book is an absolute must for anyone trying to replicate a natural closed system at home. I strongly recommend reading the following books before undertaking any reef project, "The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" Vol 1-3, and any of the Delbeek and Sprung books.

My home system is a 36" cube with an AVAST Recirculating skimmer and a DSB. It is lit by a 3 channel custom LED fixture built by Robert Chu. I work for the largest aquarium maintenance company in the metro area and maintain over 100 tanks ranging in size from 20 gallons to 500 gallons.
I am also the commercial repairman for nearly 100 of the large pet chain stores in the area. If you have any commercial questions or needs, please contact me.

If I seem gruff on the forums, I'm really not. I'm just another intermediate aquarist that tries to look at and solve problems a little differently than most. You can ask me anything- I won't be offended and won't put you on the block list.